


My Kind of Man

by lizardsonline



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: (breif), Alternate Universe - Canon, Anxiety, Canon Divergence, Comfort, Engagement, Future Fic, Get Together, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Wedding, meet cute, past relationship, post cup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 22:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizardsonline/pseuds/lizardsonline
Summary: Kent is heading to Montreal for Jack & Bitty's engagement with Alexei. He get's nostalgic and also anxious.





	My Kind of Man

**Author's Note:**

> fic title taken from the song My Kind of Woman by Mac Demarco
> 
> Chapter title from Cold Cold Man by Saint Motel

     As they stepped  out of the Montreal airport, Kent and Alexei took in the beautiful weather. They inhaled the fresh air. It was a warm day in early summer, fresh off a long but ultimately disappointing playoff run for them. As Kent got older he learned to not take losses personally, but it still stung nonetheless. The sun shone down from a cloudless sky painting everything in a warm afternoon glow. Montreal was really beautiful this time of year.

 

    Being back in Montreal made Kent reminiscent of his youth, but unlike in the past, where he looked upon the memories with bitterness and disdain, he instead felt a sense of melancholy.  Every time they played here it felt different than when he played other places. It was the same feeling of something not quite right he used to get when he played in Providence. His feelings about Providence had changed when he and Alexei got together, but Montreal was still melancholy.

 

     But, he had grown a lot since he’d last been back in Montreal for business unrelated to hockey. He’d grown physically and mentally. He was a better person now. The mistakes of his youth were in the past; and now he was back in the city where he had spent a good portion of his youth. This time for a reason entirely separate from hockey. He was here, in Montreal, with his husband who also happened to be his ex’s friend/coworker, for said ex’s engagement party. Kent looked over at his husband and began to wonder when his life had gotten this complicated

 

     They walked towards the rental area and picked up the keys. Alexei began loading the trunk with their luggage when Kent looked up to the sky and let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

 

     “Feeling okay котенок? Alexei asked.

 

     Kent sucked in a breath and closed his eyes. “I’ll be fine. It’s just like, I’m… nostalgic. Like, I used to come here all the time for the summers when I was in the Q, and I come here for hockey, but this is a whole different playing field.”

 

     “I’m not knowing about playing fields Kenny. We are hockey players, not fútbol players. We play in rink, not field,” Alexei joked.  

 

     “First off, we’re in America, it’s soccer here asshole-”

 

     “Technically in Canada now, but I will stop interrupting.”

     “As I was saying, I’m excited, but nervous. Let’s just hope this isn’t a total shitshow. I know Zimms and I are friends and Bitty and I are friends, but sometimes, I’m still afraid that everyone hates me for everything that went on back then. Just anxiety speaking, nothing that matters.

     Alexei made a face and closed the trunk. “First, your feelings matter котенок.  But, it will be fine. No one blame you. Anxiety is just mean. Now get in car. Don’t want to be late for B and Zimmboni’s party,”  Kent plopped himself down into the passenger’s seat as he watched his husband take the wheel.

 

     Part of growing as a person meant moving past the petty grudge he held with Bitty. It had taken many phone calls and years of therapy, but he and Jack had mended their friendship.  Reasonably, Bitty was less than eager to engage with him at first. It took many petty pies, some time, and a good amount of cajoling from both of their boyfriends, but eventually they grew past the mutual dislike and found each other to be tolerable.  After even more time and even more cajoling, and MANY more petty pies, they grew into what roughly resembled a friendship.

 

     Bitty was no Swoops or Jonesey, but he was someone who related to Kent in a way his hockey friends never really could. While he had played hockey; Bitty was different. He was cute, and small, and not manly at all, but didn’t seem to care whatsoever. Kent and Bitty were always going to be seen as smaller than Jack and Alexei even if Kent had more awards than the three of them combined. Bitty understood Kent’s lament over his height and his distaste with how the media portrayed them in their relationships. The smaller ones, often stereotyped as the bottoms, etcetera.

 

     Aside from the heavy things, Bitty liked the same types of music as Kent and they both adored cats, trashy reality television, and fashion. Their friendship wasn't deep and emotional, but rather simple, based mostly on proximity because of their boyfriends, but also partly based on similar situations, interests, and personalities. Kent has always joked that Jack has a type, but apparently so does he.

  


     Kent twisted at the gold band around his ring finger, thinking about how the two of them had come together. Alexei Mashkov was the tall dark and handsome man with an accent who was exactly his type. Kent blamed Jack for impressioning when he was so young. Of course, back then he had believed Jack was going to be the man of his dreams, but things don’t always go as planned.

 

     The first time he had met Alexei he was mostly annoyed. He was an absolute menace on the ice. Fast, strong and built like a tank. These were normal qualities in any Russian defenseman. Almost more irritating though, was his off-ice personality. The man was obnoxiously loud and overly outgoing; coming up to Kent after their first game against each other to apologise for the hits he’d placed on him during the game. Kent had blown it off back then, but something about the man’s look and charm had always drawn him back to the Russian.

 

     The jolt of the car as Alexei parked in front of Bad Bob’s summer home pulled Kent sharply out of his reverie and back to the present. Kent balked, irritated at Alexei for rudely waking him from his nostalgia trip. Alexei just grinned and stuck his tongue out as he exited the car.

 

     Not intending to be left behind, Kent unbuckled his seatbelt. Stepping out of the rental, he was hit with the crisp smell of the mountains and clean air. It was refreshing after roughly five hours of breathing in stale recycled oxygen on the airplane. It was about midday and the sun was still high in the sky, creating a bright and beautiful scenery on the horizon. The maple and ash trees were a brilliant shade of emerald which blended beautifully into the bright blue skyline.

 

    “That was a much shorter of a drive than I remember it being.”

 

     “You lost in thought, so I let you be. But we here now, so get out and help me get bags. I had to carry whole time at airport.” Alexei said, tossing a duffel bag at Kent. He yelped as the bag hit him in the chest and knocked him onto the ground.  

 

     “Hey, fuck you! What was that for?” Kent yelled, gathering himself and the duffel off the dirt road. He swatted at his pants attempting to get the dirt off.

 

     “Maybe fuck you later, but it would be rude to not say hi to Zimmboni and B first. We are their guests after all” Alexei winked and headed towards the house, the rest of their luggage in hand.

 

     Kent smiled to himself, shook his head and thought,“ _This is going to be a long weekend.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo this is the first thing I've written in awhile. I plan on this being a couple chapters. No more than two or three. A big thanks to listlessdaydreaming, creepergingergirl, castironhero, and thehatphotograph on tumblr for beta'ing this!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @lizards-online!


End file.
